Therapeutical electrode



(No Model.)

L. T. STANLEY.

THERAPEUTIGAL ELEGTRODE.

No. 397,474. Patented Feb. 5, 1889.

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'nrrsn STATES Parent Orrrcn.

LUCIU .1 T. STANLEY, OF BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANLEYELEC RTC COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNH YLYANIA.

THERAPEUTICAL ELECTRODE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,474, dated February5, 1889..

Application filed ge t mb r l l, 1887. Renewed January 8, 1889. SerialNo. 295,803- (No model.)

To all 1071mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUCIUs-T. STANLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Th erapeuticalElectrodes, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad to the drawings accom mnying and forming a part of the same.

This invention is an improvement in electrodes for z'ipplying electriccurrents to the human body.

The object of the invention may be briefly stated to be the productionof an electrode easily manipulated and used, which shall have a soothingand agreeable effect on the senses of the person upon whom it is used;and which may be capable of a diversity of uses or applicationsaccording to the location and nature of the complaint which one wishesto treat.

One object which I have had largely in view isto make an electrode whichmay be easily and readily applied to the head in such manner as todirect an electric current through the scalp simultaneously at a numberof points. This has heretofore been accomplished usually by brushes withmetallic bristles connected to the poles of a battery or induction-coilor by combs with metallic teeth. in such cases, however, it is to beremarked that these appliances are made as nearly like the ordinarybrushes and combs as possible, in order that their proper functions, towhich their eflicacy is generally due, may not be in any way impaired.My invention, on the other hand, while in no sense a toilet article,forms a useful and efficienttherapeutical appliance, will be seen fromthe following general description of its construction. It may consist ofa row of flexible metallic teeth with rounded ends inserted in a base orback carried by a handle and elec trically connected to a terminal, towhich one of the wires from a battery or coil is connected. The teethshould be slightly curved and sufficiently flexible to adapt themselvesto the varying contour of the body. This is the invention in itssimplest form. I generally add to it, however, a form of commutator andelectrical connections, by which all the teeth maybe connected to oneterminal or pole of the battery, or insulated in groups and connected toboth poles. I have shown the preferred construction in theaccompanywide.

13 is a metal plate which is secnrelyl'astcued to the under side of theplate A, and serves as a clamp to hold in place a given number of longresilient metal teeth, C (I, which are inserted in suitable grooves inthe plate. I) is a similar metal plate, though preferably shorter,clamping a given number of similar teeth, E 'E, in grooves in the uppersurface of the plate A. These teeth are suiiicient-ly long and slenderto be flexible, and are slightly curved, the outside teeth more thanthose nearer the center. They are formed with bent. or rounded ends,preferably made with small smooth knobs F, which slide over the scalp orother part of the body, producing a pleasant and agreeable sensation andaiford ing, a better su rface-con tact for the electric current than apointed tooth. The number of the teeth is arbitrary. I may use eithermore or less than I have shown; but, in any event, they are secured in asingle row or line, or approximately so. A screw, G, in contact with theplate D passes down through the plate B, from which it is insulated, andserves to hold firmly against the plate 13 a cylindrical block,

H, of insulating material, surrounded by a 0 ferrule or ring, K, ofmetal.

L is a handle, to which the electrode is so cured by the projectingscrew G, which enters a threaded metal cylinder or socket, M, set in theend of the said handle. The end of the 5 handle containing the socket Mis surrounded by a ferrule, N, and two terminals or means for makingelectrical connection with battery or other electrical conductors. Oneof these terminals, a, is set in the ferrule N, and the other, I00 h, inthe side of the handle and in electrical connection with the metal partM. When these parts are associated and the wires from an induction-coilare connected to the terminals a Z), respectively, the current passesthrough the teeth O to the teeth E E, or, conversely, through whateverportion of the body the instrument is applied, thus producing an actionpurely local.

To produce a more general effect the handie is unscrewed and a smalldisk or button is placed between the ferrules K N. This button consists,essentially, of a metal washer coated or protected on one side by aninsulat-ing material and threaded to fit the screw G. It is applied withthe metal surface against the edge of ferrule K, whereby all the teethare electrically connected to one terminal or pole, while the terminal aand ferrule N are insulated. The current is then established by takinghold of one battery-terminal and applying the teeth to any desired partof the body.

By this device the current is more effectively and agreeably applied toany portion of the human body than by any other device of tion, with ahandle, of a row or line of flexible metallic teeth formed with roundedknobs at the end and secured to a back or base and 3 5 provided withcircuit-connections,as set forth.

3. The combination, with an insulatinghandle having terminals (t b, ofthe insulatingplate A, the line or row of flexible teeth, and the metalplates B D, clamped to the plate A, 0 and securing the teeth inposition, the said plates being respectively connected electrically withthe terminals to b, as set forth.

4. The combination, with the line or row of metal teeth, of theclamping-plates B and D, securing said teeth to the insulating base orplate A upon opposite sides, as described, the back H, ferrule K, andscrew G, and the handle provided with the socket M and ferrule N, formaking electrical connection with the teeth, as set forth.

5. The combination, wit-h the teeth or elec- .trodes secured in twoinsulated groups, of the screw 1? and ferrule K, attached to the plateor back carrying the teeth and forming con- 5 5 centric terminals, ofthe handle L, formed with corresponding terminals, and the metal disk orbutton 0, insulated on one face, as set forth.

Signed this 18th day of August, 1887.

LUCIUS T. STANLEY.

\Yitnesses:

RoBT. F. GAYLORD, RoBT. H. DUNCAN.

